The government has dismissed the recent alarming figures of teenage pregnancies in the country released by the Children’s Department Technical Working Group during the celebrations of the Day of the African Child.
The report was released by Machakos children's officer Salome Muthama, indicating that 3,800 girls over 15 years and 200 others under 14 years became pregnant between January and May.
The report escalated a debate across the country, prompting Education CS George Magoha to intervene and cast doubt on the numbers.
But on Tuesday, Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi set the record clear, dismissing the report as 'inaccurate.'
“We have been able to interrogate this data that is circulating in the media both within the Ministry of Health and also in conjunctions with the county governments to be able to ascertain the truth behind this numbers,” Mwangangi said.
"The current data from the study that was highlighted is inaccurate especially when you look at the explanation in terms of ante-natal visits by teenage mothers,” she added.
The CAS said that the actual number of pregnant teenagers is approximately a third of the reported cases.
Mwangangi however admitted that Kenya is not an exception to the global teen pregnancies, but the figures were not accurate.
The CAS called upon teenage mothers to make frequent visits to the clinics to avoid the higher risks associated with teenage pregnancies.
“Teenage mothers would be encouraged to make multiple visits and we are putting in place mechanisms to ensure that these mothers can access the care that is available,” she said.
The CAS further said that teenage motherhood is catastrophic and dis-empowering to the outcome of the girl.
“More often, it spells doom to the teenagers’ attainment in terms of living their full potential,” she said.
The ministry said that it considers a single teenage pregnancy as too many and that each girl deserves an opportunity to thrive and to be free at health risks.
Magoha had also said officers from the Ministry of Education would be sent to Machakos to ascertain the figures.
He had said the lobby groups might have exaggerated the figures in order to receive funds from the donors.
He said it was "impossible" for so many school going children to get pregnant in four months.
"I would like to clarify that the numbers are yet to be confirmed, but my social welfare department has launched investigations into the matter," he said.
